Browse Month: October 2017

I think part of it is the British love of the underdog, pondered Maybury, who reckons he must be a sucker for double punishment as a supporter of Southend United, a similarly unsuccessful third-tier English league soccer club. There’s a tradition aspect, too. The Browns are a grand old traditional franchise, like the Packers, with great fans. Who wouldn’t prefer to support a team like that rather than one of the glory sides like the Cowboys or Raiders?

Steve figures he and wife, Jane, have forked out thousands of pounds to travel to Cleveland and other NFL cities to watch the Browns in 25 games through the years.

That probably does make me sound like a sad anorak — and most of my friends would probably agree, he said with a shrug.

A 3-3 record typically would be an indication of a mediocre team that has no chance at a deep playoff run. That’s not the case for the Cowboys, who still have that chance with their defense starting to play more like it did last season. But the physical and emotional blow of having Elliott pulled from the lineup could rein in the hot play of quarterback Dak Prescott and that defense at the worse possible time.

If Elliott were to be suspended for the aforementioned six games, the Cowboys, with a brutal closing stretch against the Raiders, Seahawks and Eagles, would not be able to afford him needing to shake off any rust in his return. By then, those games might not matter as much as they should.

There is no good time lose a special talent like Elliott for so long. But if the Cowboys could have picked their spot, the stretch of six games starting in Week 9 would not have been it.

Dallas better be banking on Elliott totally avoiding his suspension in 2017. Otherwise, the Cowboys’ playoff hopes would have been much more realistic had he already served it.

Jack Doyle and Donte Moncrief were the two that Brissett targeted most often Monday. Neither was particularly reliable.

A few weeks ago I spoke with Chuck Zodda, special teams expert at Inside the Pylon and good friend to the column, about what makes a good pro. Kicking is about three things, he said. Balance, torque, and the space between the ears.

I have never really understood what torque means though I have pretended to on several occasions when trying to discuss cars with my father-in-law but that third part is interesting. As much as kicking motion or leg strength, field goal kicking is about being able to execute a swift and precise motion, perfectly, with the world watching you. Same as a golf putt to win a tournament or nailing a free throw with the game on the line.

OK, maybe this isn’t a new thing we learned tonight, but the point was kind of driven home by the Titans coming up short five times. It’s great that Succop is so reliable, but any time you ask your kicker to make that many field goals and not one of them was from more than 50 yards, it just means your offense isn’t finishing drives.

Last year, the Titans were the best team in the NFL in red zone efficiency with touchdowns on 72 percent of drives that got inside the 20.

Maybe the Titans will return to that 2016 form as Mariota’s health improves, but for now, the team’s struggles to get in the end zone are problematic and were the reason this game was even close.

A potential touchdown pass in the first quarter bounced off the fingertips of Brissett, and Doyle had an awful night that included a fumble in the third quarter to set up the Titans with good field position.

When T.Y. Hilton is held in check like he was Monday, the other options for the Colts in the passing game are few and far between.